Becoming+Acquainted+with+the+Classroom+Space

Field Assignment 1: Becoming Acquainted With the Classroom Space

Chaos, distractions, frequent accidents, and conflicts were what I predicted to occur in a classroom that housed two classes. However, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into my third grade classroom at Wicoff Elementary School in Plainsboro to see an organized and structured classroom. Not only was the room itself high functioning with two classes inside it, but the students themselves were some of the most cooperative, courteous, and diligent students I have encountered. The teachers, Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Weaver, had also reasonably scheduled their weekly agendas and switch off’s while maintaining established routines and the classroom’s orderly physique. Because the classroom occupies two classes, the structure of it is unique in numerous elements including the tangible arrangement of furniture and materials, relationships the room fosters, and the overall message it conv’eys.

Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Weaver instruct their forty students in an interesting classroom of size, configuration, and management. Originally a locker room when the school was a kindergarten through eight school, the room is twice the size as the other classrooms in the building. There are no movable walls to even separate the classes, thus it takes a great deal of effort to focus in on a lesson or assignment when the two classes are separated for math and spelling. Otherwise, Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Weaver share the responsibilities of instructing their students. Mrs. Weaver facilitates writer’s workshop and science while Mrs. Cox instructs reader’s workshop and social studies. They rotate their schedule as to who conducts the morning procedures on an every other day basis along with the days in which they have science and social studies. All other subject areas fluctuate as well throughout the week in the time allotted to them and time in the day in which they are conducted due to Spanish classes two time a week and additional specials. Because the teachers team teach, their classroom is structured in such a way that you can teach from the front or back of the room due to chalk boards at either end and carpet areas to gather on and teach whole group lessons on both sides as well. Students desks are put into formations of six with three sets on one side of the room and four on the other in a way so that they protrude out into the middle of the room with enough space between the rows of desks for two people to walk through the isle it creates comfortably. A library corner is made up of a variety of different style bookshelves around Mrs. Cox’s carpet area while on Mrs. Weavers meeting area is surrounded by a science table, shelves housing math and science materials, and a math vocabulary board on. More books are kept in shelves above the teachers desks, in bins around the room, and some books relevant to their studies such as their science unit of rocks and minerals are displayed proudly on the window sill. There is a bulletin board designated for each subject that is kept up regularly as well as free floating posters on the wall and boards ranging from class rule agreements, job boards, and “pencils plus” (school store) positions to writer and readers workshop rules, the writing process, the alphabet and more. Students work is also displayed around the classroom with their most current work of illustrations of their realistic fiction characters close pinned to a laundry line on the ceiling. The classroom also meets the teacher’s needs by providing a desk and table, two cabinets and a sink for each one respectively. The class has two Macintosh computers and a laptop wired to the smart board on Mrs. Cox side of the classroom, as well as two overheads in the rooms corners. The morning message is posted on the smart board when students walk in and is kept open on the laptop for remainder of the day. It entails a greeting, their first assignment, and their homework for that night that students record in their “agenda” or planners which they later hand in for Mrs. Cox to initial, seeing that they copied all their assignments down to assure that they complete them all. The class has a fluid method of procedures eliciting a great deal of student responsibility and participation. Thanks to the classrooms arrangement and components, students are able to fulfill their academic and social conscience.

Strategic planning on the room’s structure is crucial in any classroom but certainly more so in a room with two full size classes. Luckily, Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Weaver have mastered it over 21 years of teaching together. The teachers desks, because they are next to one another they can communicate more confidentially and efficiently. They have designed the classroom in such a way that despite forty students, there is still also room for students to move around freely between the aisles and on and off of the carpet/ meeting area. Because of the aisles and clusters of desks together, teachers are easily able to access students in groups and individually. Students as well have the opportunity to interact with five to eight classmates from still in their seats. Some students, approximately eight, actually have direct interaction with the Mrs. Cox and/or Mrs. Weaver as their desks meet theirs on opposite sides. On the carpets as a whole group, both students and teachers can interact with one another effortlessly. The relationship teachers and students have is strong in other aspects as well. For example, students were eager to ask questions and provide feedback on the lessons content (I was even provided constructive criticism on my read aloud from a student shortly after!) Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Weaver have created a comfortable environment where they are not afraid to share their thinking and opinions with one another. Similarly, the educators take great pride in the students work as their artwork drapes around the room sending the message that “I’m proud of how hard you work and you should be too”. The posters of jobs and resources signify that students are responsible for their work and education. The teacher/student relationship is steadfast in the sense of humor and security the teachers express and the joy and commitment to education the students exude.

Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Weaver have worked for years to master the design, structure and operation of their classroom so that it conveys many positive messages to students and visitors. With two teachers in the same room and more so, the room functioning as one classroom, it expresses that the teacher’s style is collaborative and cooperative. I believe that the teachers compromise and work together with their students best interests in mind so as not to separate them but to foster community and teach through togetherness. The reflection the room gives about math specifically is that it is valued here. Manipulatives are stored away neatly in accessible shelves to teacher and students and are used on a daily basis. Also, the placement of a smart board with thousands of math applications conveys that Mrs. Cox is not afraid to use the technology in their classroom for a more interesting and amusing mathematics period. Math is also relevant to the space in the form of three bulletin boards with math vocabulary on one, space for students work on another, and the final one with a problem stated for students to attempt to solve on their own time. Other subjects are also integrated to teaching math with math books within the library expressing that math isn’t all about numbers. The messages Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Weaver communicate to students is that of their commitment to provide rich diverse experiences through a variety of instructional practices. Students become excited to learn through new tools and lenses, thanks to their fearless superior educators.

The classroom make up has a great deal of effect on the students learning and attitude toward school. Luckily, the classroom that I thought was going to be complete chaos turned out to be peaceful with well rounded students and top notch educators. It takes a great deal of skill to manage a room with double the amount of students as in a regular classroom, but Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Weaver are the perfect pair to work together and create an environment where optimal learning can occur. It is an interesting and invaluable experience to witness two rooms functioning as one and supplies greater ideas for my classroom in the near future. Overall, the classrooms physical structure, relationships, and messages it expresses are all detrimental to a successful and peaceful classroom such as that of Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Weavers.